1.2.11 Support Panel Procedure

1. Support Panel

1.1 Purpose

Support Panels have been established to ensure that the decisions for children at the verge of accommodation or legal proceedings are appropriate and consistent, that practice is restorative, and children are supported at home within their family (including wider family and connected persons) wherever possible. Cases are not presented to support panel to ratify decisions already made by a HOS outside support panel.

Support panel is an internal decision-making process, and as such should not be an action in a Child and Family Assessment, a Child and Family Progress Plan/Meeting or a Child Protection Meeting. For the same reason, attendance at support panel for decision making should not be discussed with children, their parents or families or external professionals as this could be confusing or lead to expectations on the part child/parent/family member/professionals which are not subsequently met. We would however expect that children, parents and families are aware that decisions are not made in isolation by their social worker and that there is management involvement and accountability in decision making.

2. Criteria to Help Deciding Which Cases are Presented to Panel

2.1 The following should be presented to Panel:

• Cases where the team considers that the case requires a Legal Gateway/Planning Meeting, Pre-proceedings including PISMIP;
• Cases where the request is for Care Proceedings (including extension of Supervision Order and to issue proceedings if this is the recommended outcome of a S37 report;
• Cases where the team consider that a child or young person should be accommodated; including 16 to 17 year olds when Child and Family Assessments have been completed following Youth Homeless presentations;
• To ratify plans for unborn baby cases including those managed through the pre-birth protocol where one or other of the parents/caregivers has criminal convictions for an offence against a child;
• To ratify plans for unborn baby cases where either parent has been involved in Care Proceedings relating to any connected child, including the removal of children from their care, or where either parent has had 'Facts Found' against them relating to harm or failure to protect to a child in care proceedings initiated by any Local Authority or in private law proceedings unless that parent has been subsequently been assessed and is currently caring for a child AND there are no concerns about the care or parenting of that child;
• For Cases where the child is identified to have a disability/open to CWD; where agreement/ratification is required of care packages of high value cost to ensure that all possible options of support have been considered to meet the Child's and Young Person's needs, reducing the requirement for, or conversely agreement for, them to become a CIC.

2.2 The following should be managed through a Case Discussion Decision between a Head of Service and a Team Manager (on occasion this may be delegated to a Practice Supervisor):

• Urgent concerns where there has been a precipitating incident and immediate action is required to safeguard, or to accommodate a child;
• Cases where the only child for consideration is an unborn baby and there have previously been public law proceedings or private law proceedings which led to a child leaving the care of either expectant parent where there were safeguarding concerns AND the request is limited to pre-birth legal planning and pre-proceedings;
• Requests to issue care proceedings on an unborn baby where there are live care proceedings in respect of older children of either expectant parent OR where such proceedings have concluded within the preceding 6 months AND the request is to issue care proceedings with interim removal. If the plan for the unborn is to remain in either parents care, the case must be presented to support panel to ratify the plan before birth; 
• Discharge of Care Orders.

The case discussion decision must be recorded upon the child’s file using the Managers Decision case note. The recording must include the outcome of the discussion and the rationale and any actions or next steps that have been identified.

3. Benefits

3.1 The benefits of the Support Panel are that social workers are assisted to ensure:

• The right outcome is achieved for the child & family;
• Decision making is consistent and evidenced;
• That everything is being done to support the family;
• Cases are 'front loaded', if needing to move to initiating Care Proceedings;
• Scrutiny when agreeing accommodation and legal proceedings;
• Input from other services towards the support plan for the family.

4. Composition of Panel

4.1 The Panel will be made up of the following members:

• Chairperson - Head of Service (Independent from the Line Management of the case);
• Head of Service (from the service area);
• Team Manager or designated Practice Supervisor (Early Help, F4M, Family Group Conferencing, Fostering, Childrens Health & SEND), Corporate Parenting Manager;
• Administrator.

5. Application

• The request for the Support Panel is completed on the SC Support Panel Request and Outcome (C0342) form on Mosaic;
• The following documents must be sent to Safeguarding & Review (Safeguarding&Review@lincolnshire.gov.uk) together with the Support Panel Application Form, by noon on the Friday, prior to the Support Panel the case is being discussed:
  • Child and Family Assessment and/or Parenting Assessment (CFA if completed within 6 months prior to panel date);
  • Early Help Report (if involved);
  • Progress Plan;
  • Chronology;
  • If already obtained Legal Advice (Including PPM);
• The following documents can also be sent in addition to the above:
  • Direct work with the children;
  • Genogram/Eco-Map;
  • FGC Plan;
  • Family Safety Plan;
  • Legal Advice (Including PPM);
  • Signs of Safety Mapping/Harm Matrix;
  • Other documents that may be relevant and inform decision making process should be included as appropriate, for example expert assessment report.

6. Process

• The request for Panel should be recorded on the SC Support Panel Request and Outcome (C0342) form on Mosaic;
• The request MUST BE:
  • Sent to and approved by a Team Manager/Practice Supervisor;
  • Sent to Safeguarding & Review by 12 noon on the Friday before the Support Panel.
• The Social Care Team Manager (or, if delegated, the Practice Supervisor) will be expected to attend Support Panel;
• Wherever possible the case will be presented to Support Panel by the Social Worker with contributions from Early Help Worker/F4M worker. If the Social Worker or Early Help Worker/F4M worker cannot attend Panel, their Practice Supervisor will present the information to Support Panel on their behalf;
• Information to be presented by other Children's Services Representatives involved with the family, for example Fostering, Family Group Conference and Health;
• The outcome will be recorded in the SC Support Panel Request and Outcome (C0342) Form on the Child/Young Person's Mosaic record;
• If it was recommended that a case return to panel, after initial attendance, this should be returned within the identified timescale (Minute taker to book onto next panel), unless there is positive progress made, resulting in the case not being required to return to panel, and the team manager can provide an update in the AOB section of the meeting. In such circumstances, and in circumstances where the case is being presented at a later panel than booked, the Team Manager must record the decision and rationale in a Managers case note on the child’s file.

7. Support Panel Decisions

• Panel decisions need to be discussed and reviewed in Supervision;
• Evidence of completed actions needs to be recorded on the child's file;
• Where Support Panel's decision is to progress with a Family Group Conference, this referral will be progressed as an action from Support Panel on Mosaic;
• Where a decision has been made at support panel not to issue care proceedings on an unborn baby following pre-birth assessment, and the unborn baby is not already subject to a child protection plan (due to legal planning providing the framework to protect and plan for the unborn baby’s arrival), a strategy meeting must be held between 30 and 35 weeks gestation to consider if Section 47 child protection planning is necessary to safeguard the baby in their parents care once born.

8. Agreement Outside of Support Panel

• If agreement for accommodation is obtained outside of the Support Panel process, because tri-part funding is required for a Child with Disabilities in a 38 week Educational Placement; agreement should be obtained via the relevant Head of Service (Assistant Director for purposes of accommodation). The Head of Service MUST:
  • Record within the decision to accommodate step on Mosaic:
    • Why the agreement was made outside of panel;
    • What the specific agreement is and the timescales;
    • Expectations of additional actions and timescales for completion of these.

9. Support Panel Disagreements

Where members of the Panel are unable to agree the recommendations of the Panel, the areas of disagreement should be noted at Panel and the chair of the Panel should discuss and agree an outcome with the Assistant Director.

10. Review

Support Panel activity is reviewed annually; the analysis of the activity will be used to contribute to learning and improvement across Children's services.